The Dodgers were lucky Manny Ramirez didn’t take their offer. The Angels will be crazy if they make Ramirez a similar one.

Pedro Gomez’s latest ESPN reportabout just how unprofessional Ramirez was before being traded from Boston only reinforces the reality: The guy is a brilliant hitter, and the guy is a clown. You just don’t know which one you’re going to get.

Too many people are too punch-drunk by all the blasts Ramirez delivered in recent months – this means you, Jeff Miller– to see the big picture that you never pay big money to an athlete without weighing far more what he’s going to do than what he has already done.

And there’s no way Ramirez is someone to count on going forward.

Not only is he aging (37 early next season), not only is he flighty (classic line in Gomez’s piece where Ramirez “couldn’t remember” which knee he was alleging was sore), he is no guarantee to be great even if he’s happy as a Dodger or an Angel.

If he’s happy, that just increases the likelihood that he’ll be lazy – especially immediately after getting paid.

The Dodgers’ offense is already on the rise with all the sweet-swinging youngsters who are getting stronger and already are more tough-minded after the recently completed postseason run. Andre Ethier still has a lot to prove about hitting lefties, but this should at least give the Dodgers some pause:

If you’re going to give a guy $22.5 million a year – more than any position player in the game besides Alex Rodriguez – you need to be able to take numbers much bigger than those to the bank next season. And that’s not even addressing how less likely in future years Ramirez will be worth the big bucks.

Ramirez is simply not a dominant player in his prime. He dominated last fall, but that doesn’t change where he’s at in his career. Fellow free agent Mark Teixeira, who is a dominant player in his prime (he’ll turn 29 early next season), is far more likely to be worth $20 million annually.

Overshadowed by Ramirez’s big splash in Southern California was Teixeira hitting .358 for the Angels after arriving from Atlanta.

You’re right … signing Teixeira doesn’t create the same buzz.

There’d be far morebuzz from winning a World Series, which is far more likely with Teixeira than Ramirez, both now and later.

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